Lyon Housemuseum

The Lyon Housemuseum in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, combines a private residence with a museum of contemporary art. Designed by architect Corbett Lyon and opened in 2009, the building deliberately blends museum and domestic spaces, dissolving the traditional boundaries between public and private. The facade is clad in black zinc, while the interior is lined with wood panels printed with texts by the family. At its heart is the Lyon Collection, which has been built up since 1990 and includes more than 350 works by Australian artists from the 1990s to the present. You can only visit the house on guided tours that must be booked in advance, and you'll experience a unique presentation of the artworks. The program is rounded out by public lectures on topics such as art history and architecture. An expansion completed in 2019 provides additional flexible exhibition spaces for international and local presentations, which are managed by the Lyon Foundation.